Countering The chill
As a young girl growing up in South Louisiana, March was the best time of the year; it brought with it some of my favorite things: azaleas and daffodils in full bloom, a new dress for Easter and helping plant my grandmother’s garden.
When I got older and bought my first house, still in the South but now in Mississippi, March remained one of my favorite months; it brought promise and possibility: planning improvements in my garden and seeing the fruits of last year’s work, watching my world wake up and come alive.
Now I live in the frozen plains of the Midwest, and I struggle every year when March arrives. Every cell in my body tells me March should signal the rebirth of color and outdoor life, but I’m still wrapped up in my heaviest winter coat and gloves waiting on buds, birds and brilliance. Instead of digging holes in my garden and splurging on that statue I couldn’t live without I linger at the garden center and settle for another houseplant or a new container. And I don’t think I’m alone. I think there are plenty of people like me who start looking for spring long before it arrives.
The Early Bird
What an opportunity! Think about all those hard-core gardeners out there, your best customers. If they don’t want to wait for spring’s arrival, don’t make them! I’m not suggesting you sell plants that you know will freeze or hype bird food for birds that aren’t around, but there are other things you can do to help your customers get ready for spring…things that will foster the gardening impulse and hopefully bring those customers back to your store when the time is right.
Do you have an in-house landscaping division? Arrange an evening event where customers can schedule time with a designer to get pointers on their landscapes. Some of those customers will take your ideas and run, but many of them will purchase the necessary products from your store, and a few will even hire your landscape division for a more detailed plan and installation. Don’t have a landscape division? There are lots of design/build firms that would jump at an opportunity to sit down with prospective clients.
Many gardeners use the weeks before spring actually hits to prepare their garden. This means cleaning and pruning. Early spring is the best time to sell mulch, soil amendments and the like. Encourage customers to prepare beds now so they gain time when the weather turns nice. Additionally, depending on your location, March is the perfect time to hold classes about how to transplant, divide and prune things like roses, daylillies, etc.
And don’t forget those who still like to start from seeds or grow vegetables. If they don’t get started soon, the first frost will catch them before harvest or bloom.
Garden centers should not be dead before spring arrives, and especially not independents! The box stores are not going to put out product before peak nor are they an inviting place to spend one’s lunch hour. Taking advantage of this narrow window to extend the season is an opportunity for independents only. The question you have to ask yourself is are you going out there and create business where there isn’t any or wait for the easy stuff to come to you?
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